Saturday, March 04, 2006

Bloody Borders at UNC

East coast USAIt looks like the next time a revised edition of the Bloody Borders Project comes out, there will be a new colored spot on the east coast of the USA, specifically Chapel Hill, NC. Thanks to a tipster in the state, I became aware of this article from yesterday’s Myrtle Beach Online:

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. - A recent University of North Carolina graduate faces attempted murder charges after a sport utility vehicle raced through a popular campus gathering spot Friday, hurting nine people and scattering startled bystanders.

Six people - five students and a visiting scholar - were treated for minor injuries and released from UNC Hospitals, the university said in a statement. Three other people declined treatment at the scene, police said.

Mohammed Reza Taheri-azar, 22, who graduated in December with a double major in psychology and philosophy, was being held Friday by campus police. They intend to charge him with nine counts of attempted murder and nine counts of assault with a deadly weapon with intent to kill, said Capt. George Hare of the UNC Department of Public Safety.

The FBI joined the case because Taheri-azar, a native of Iran, “allegedly made statements that he acted to avenge the American treatment of Muslims. The ongoing investigation will work to confirm this,” said Special Agent Richard Kolko, an FBI spokesman in Washington.

Police searched Mr. Taheri-azar’s apartment, looking for explosives and other materials. According to the article, their search is ongoing.

Apparently the incident was a response to the cartoons of Mohammed published in Denmark:

Last month, Muslim students at UNC protested the publication in The Daily Tar Heel of an original cartoon depicting the prophet Muhammad. Islam is interpreted to forbid any illustrations of Muhammad for fear they could lead to idolatry. The recent publication of a series of cartoons of Muhammad in European newspapers sparked violent protests in the Middle East and elsewhere.

Local Muslims have been quick to disassociate themselves from Mr. Teheri-azar.


“Regardless of what his intentions prove to be, we wholeheartedly deplore this action, and trust that our fellow classmates will be able to dissociate the actions of this one disturbed individual from the beliefs of the Muslim community as a whole,” the statement said. “Peace be upon you all.”

These are admirable sentiments. Are there any readers from the UNC area who want to contribute opinions or information?


X said...

I still cannot believe this guy drove in front of Lenoir like that. I was there when this guy attended but I never met him. It's impossible to accidently drive where he went. It's amazing he didn't kill African American students because they campaign for student offices outside of the Pit and they congregate on the bricks in front of the library.

But given the time of day he could have killed anyone. UNC has always been sensitive to Islam. After the terrorist attacks UNC made the required reading a Muslim friendly book on Islam against the backlash of campus conservatives. UNC Professor Ernst wrote an excellent book that promotes tolerance to Muslims. There are courses that do so as well.

The sad thing is this will fuel the convictions of those that are prejudiced against Muslims. The people that don't have any Muslim friends or don't understand the positive messages in Islam will become more prejudiced. That guy had to know all these things but he didn't care. If the guy was really upset about the cartoon he could have done something else. He could have protested like students usually do. He could have went around campus and collected all the papers to make a statement.

I wonder if he intended to run over the loud mouthed "Christian" that spews all types of intolerance in the Pit. Imagine the controversy if he had killed that man. That would have really fueled the parochial religious types.

Scott said...

9 injured by SUV at UNC-Chapel Hill

Well that is the AP headline! Not until the 4th paragraph is any mention made of the terrorist nature of this rampage.

There is a serious problem with our news media ( like no one else has noticed) but it has reached a point where our 'free press' is nothing but propaganda for a multiculturist utopia that no longer exists except amongst the news media itself.

What was it the Russians used to quip? There is no news in Izvestia and no truth in Pravda. Has our news media created its own totalitarian system where to even publish the news must take a back seat to its ideological considerations?

gumshoe said...

so j-dot
would like to see more
tolerance for jihad.

i'd like to see more non-muslims
educate themselves about Islam.

bordergal said...

"That would have really fueled the parochial religious types".

I would gather that you don't spend much time listening to Islamic "parochial religious types". That can be an eye opening experience, and I highly recommend it. For example...

Shia musicians in Iraq are raising sectarian tensions by producing "gangsta-rap" songs in which they call for Shias to kill Sunnis. The hate-filled lyrics of singers such as Riyadh al Wadi have proved a big hit in Shia areas after the tit-for-tat killings that have pushed the country to the brink of civil war in the past two weeks.

OR this..."The website of the Iranian martyrdom-seekers began its operations by declaring an alert amongst the Iranian martyrdom forces... The site also demanded that the Iranian martyrdom-seeking forces intervene in Iraq and protect the Shi'ite holy places [there]."

More positive messages from the "Religion of Peace".

Funny how that loud mouthed Christian you find so offensive hasn't found it necessary to drive a car into a group of students in order to get his point across.

Fellow Peacekeeper said...
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
Adaneshju said...

For what it's worth, a guy I know who was in the MSA at a nearby school (that frequently did cross events with UNC's MSA) had never met the guy, and did not know his name. Not that that necessarily means anything.

In addition, I've heard (though I'm not sure it's true) that Taheri-azer himself called 9/11.

To me this sounds like a very very unstable person whose insanity unhinged him this way--not a terrorist. I don't think it's terrorism, but that of course remains to be seen.

And just FWIW again, for those who have never been there, the Pit is an interesting place. Last time I was there I believe a hemp rally was in fullswing. Typical college protest place.

Bordergal: it REALLY might behoove you to know something about what you're talking about: (I'm amazed this exists, btw). While it's true he hasn't used violence, he's not a pleasant dude.

mobile mineral said...

9 injured by SUV at UNC-Chapel Hill


Evil, sick, murderous beasts, those SUV's. I am glad that the msm is on their case.

Chip said...



Indeed. Just like the "sad thing" about the horrific dragging death of James Byrd is how it affected the good names of white supremacists all over Texas.

Do you have any idea how irrational your entire post sounds to someone unconditioned by PC crapthink?

The Muslims who recite the Qur'an by rote are the Muslims who commit the acts of violence.

Is it impossible for you to distinguish between criticism of a hateful written ideology (Islam) and criticism of the people who manage to act in a civilized manner despite the words in books?

It doesn't help that the majority of academics specializing in Islam are dissimulating con artists funded by Gulf Arabs. Worse, the inability of the Muslim community in policing itself engenders perfectly legitimate concerns over the sincerity of many so-called peaceful Muslims.

Muslims meet each other FIVE, count them, FIVE times a day. It's hard to imagine any community less able to seriously argue they have no idea what the others are thinking and doing. Of course there are peaceful Muslims. The issue is how few there are compared to any other community of believers in the world today.

Your gratuitous, and so typical, slur of Christians - who haven't committed well over four thousand deadly (just the deadly ones, over four thousand) terrorist attacks proves I've just wasted my time trying to educate a potted plant.

Perhaps Miracle Gro is in order.

Chip said...

The four thousand number is just attacks since 9/11.

It does not include many lone wolf attacks by jihadis all over the world.

If j-dot is typical of modernity and civilization I may as well invest in a prayer rug. At least I'm a man who can take care of himself. They'll respect my will, intelligence, and ability to fight.

Plus, I can afford a harem.

If you're a woman, j-dot, more's the pity.

bordergal said...


Yes, it appears that while he preaches against many things, he has always been nonviolent-EVEN IN THE FACE OF PHYSICAL ATTACKS by people who also seem to be a bunch of jerks. See the comments from Wikipedia below.

"Attacks on Gary are not uncommon. At North Carolina State University a student planned with others to strip down to a thong and dance while music blared from a nearby car. Also at NCSU, Gary was hit in the face with a cream pie by a passing bike rider.

In 2002 at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte, a group of several large men picked up the Reverend against his will, carried him to the lake and tossed him into the water to the cheers of onlookers."

Very nice, physically attacking someone who is probably mentally unbalanced, and who makes no attempt to defend himself. We used to call people like that bullies, and they were considered to be lower then pond scum. Apparently at UNC, they are called "students".

And equating "unpleasant to listen to" and "physically violent to the point of attempted murder"?

You've GOT to be joking (or a UNC student).

Adaneshju said...


Of all the things to thank god for, I am not a UNC student!

Also, since you don't seem clear on the details, UNC and NCSU are not the same school.

bordergal said...

I stand corrected on the university versus state college issue.

Kiddo said...

I won't hold my breath for any decent MSM coverage on this one. Hopefully if we keep on posting it on forums and blogs it will attract some much needed attention.

Red House Hunter said...

This my first comment on this blog, or any blog, for that matter.

I found the Gates of Vienna while idly surfing for information on property for sale in the vicinity of Red House, VA. I was, and remain, fascinated by the developments concerning the radical Muslim community in that area and chose my name for that purpose.

Now, for the attempted murder of students at the Pit over at UNC, here are a couple of comments. The Raleigh TV station's website ( is now broadcasting information that the perpetrator stated he was trying to kill people and that he was "doing God's will". The second comment is that criminal charges related to terrorist attack have not yet been filed. There is a protest scheduled for today, at UNC, and at the Pit, where support for charges relating to terrorism are being sought.